Fort Osage School District looks forward future projects

With Phase I of Vision 2020 complete, Fort Osage School District administrators are turning their attention to the next phase of the district’s long-range plan.

“The Board of Education saw a need and had a vision to develop a master plan before any buildings were constructed,” said John Ruddy, assistant superintendent of support services, at the Fort Osage Parent Involvement Committee meeting Thursday. “As they looked to the future, they saw the need to have extra capacity (in the buildings) in order to anticipate growth.”

Ruddy discussed the progress of Vision 2020 as well as the next step in the long-range plan with a group of almost 50 parents and community members at Indian Trails Elementary.

Vision 2020 was created in the fall of 2004 by community members as a way to plan for the future of the Fort Osage district. It consists of three phases, with projects to be addressed through a series of no-tax increase bond issues.

Phase I was funded through a $17 million no-tax-increase bond issue, approved in April 2006. The major project of Phase I was the construction of Indian Trails Elementary, which opened this fall. Other projects were upgrading security at all district buildings; new roofs at Cler-Mont and Elm Grove elementary schools as well as Fort Osage High School; upgrading the electrical system at the Career and Technology Center and renovations to the four existing elementary schools.

These renovations include a two-classroom addition at Buckner Elementary as well as the reconfiguration of classrooms and the expansion of the media centers at each of the buildings.

“We now have the capacity for the next 10 years, based on our past growth, before we need to even think about constructing another building,” Ruddy said. “The elementary renovations are not quite finished, but when they are, the interior doors can be locked at all times, so we can know who comes in and out of our buildings. We what to know who is in these schools.”

Phase II includes several other projects. Superintendent Larry Ewing said the original plan was to fund the second phase through a no-tax-increase bond issue in spring 2011. He said by spreading each phase out, the district can place no-tax-increase issues on the ballot. A bond issue for phase III is scheduled to be on the ballot sometime in 2015.

“We believe that the next time we have a bond issue on the ballot, it would not increase taxes,” he said. “If factors change in the district, there is a possibility we could move phase II up.”

Projects for phase II include a new early childhood/Parents As Teachers facility; additional classrooms at Fire Prairie and Osage Trail middle schools; additional classrooms at the CTC and upgrading facilities and electrical systems at Fort Osage High School.

“Research has shown that if invest in kids at an early age, they will be more successful by the time they get to high school,” Ruddy said of a new early childhood center. “Their chances for success are brighter.”

The last phase of Vision 2020 would include a new support services building; an auxiliary gymnasium and weight room at Osage Trail; a 2,200-seat field house at Fort Osage High School; the expansion of other district athletic facilities and a new Central Office.

“The important thing to remember is that our board looked to the future,” Ruddy said. “They anticipated growth, and we now have a plan to address the needs of this district.”